ABDULLAH

The Federal Government is mobilising more than 500,000 hectares of underutilised land in tertiary institutions for commercial agriculture under the Renewed Hope Tertiary Agricultural and Entrepreneurship Programme, 40 selected universities, polytechnics and colleges of education will initially benefit from the programme, with each institution eligible for between ₦1 billion and ₦2 billion in financing through the Bank of Agriculture. More Details: - The Bank of Agriculture will provide between ₦1 billion and ₦2 billion to each participating institution to establish and operate commercial farms. - The programme will bring underutilised institutional lands into productive use, with participating institutions expected to make available approximately 1,000 hectares each, subject to the viability of their proposals. - Each participating institution is expected to have access to 10 tractors at significantly reduced costs, alongside modern seedlings, farm implements, irrigation equipment, water pumps, fertilisers and technical expertise. - Produce aggregators will be engaged to purchase harvested crops, while measures will be introduced to reduce post-harvest losses and ensure farmers have access to reliable markets. - The commercial farms will enable universities and other institutions to generate income from agricultural production, reducing their dependence on government funding and supporting their long-term sustainability. - Students, unemployed graduates, alumni, academic and non-academic staff, as well as members of host communities, will have opportunities to participate in farming and agro-allied businesses. - The programme will provide students and researchers with opportunities to apply agricultural knowledge, develop practical skills and translate institutional research into commercial production. - Beyond primary production, subsequent phases will explore processing and other agro-allied activities to strengthen agricultural value chains and retain more economic value locally.